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Attack of the Zombie no-Healthcare Bill:

Seriously? Are we doing this AGAIN? That was rhetorical because, obviously, if I am here writing about it, the answer is a most depressing, “Yes.” The GOP is at it again. It is apparent they are not playing baseball because you would think after the first three strikes they would be out and the nation could move on to the next ridiculous and dangerous agenda we all have to spend our time off protesting. But no, the GOP appear undeterred by the outrage of a nation. I’d like to think they are just naively oblivious to the fact that they are throwing their own constituents under the bus because, you guessed it, this new bill affects pretty much everyone who isn’t wealthy. Every piece of repeal legislation they have introduced has gotten progressively worse… Hey! Look! They do know how to be progressive! [yes, that was sarcasm.] But no, I’m afraid they just relish in the idea that healthcare is a privilege bestowed upon those fortunate enough to have a fortune.

The new and improved anti Healthcare legislation called the Graham-Cassidy Bill (Trumpcare 4.0) combines all the worst elements of its predecessors into one American Horror story that, if passed, will be far from fiction. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 32 MILLION citizens would lose access to affordable healthcare should this atrocity pass. It eliminates protections for pre-existing conditions, de-funds planned parenthood, eliminates the Medicaid expansion, eliminates required coverage for many basic healthcare needs, allows insurance companies to raise your rates if you get sick, reinstates lifetime policy caps, and allows insurance companies to charge you more the older you get. If you don’t have an extra $150,000 a year to spend on healthcare, then you might want to skip out on getting metastatic cancer, because, yeah, we know that is choice, right?

The good news is that most of us still have our signs from the last go the GOP had at us. But I find myself asking another question. The GOP was supposedly going to work bipartisanly to fix the problems we all know do exist in the current system. Then, whoosh! Suddenly that is no longer an option and they have the most horrendous bill yet. I mean, if the nation rose up against the others, you’d think the GOP had a good idea no one wants healthcare based entirely on the size of their bank account. So why introduce something they KNOW no one will want? Something they already know will attract the worst of attention and anger the masses? Hmmm. Could this be a GOP attempt at distraction?

With so, so, so, SO many things happening in rapid succession regarding Mueller’s investigation into Trump and Russia, could it be that the GOP is using the abolishment of reasonable access to healthcare to somehow divert our attention? Or could this be just a last ditch effort to get something they want before Trump and his entire administration is carted off in handcuffs?

There is growing potential of the election itself being challenged depending on what the investigation reveals. Would that be difficult on our country? Yes. It would. But it would be better than allowing interference, corruption, and treason to prosper. However, even if it is not challenged, Trump’s likely criminal activity is nearing extreme exposure to a scale even the GOP will not be able to ignore without condemning themselves as complicit. They will throw Trump to the wolves to save themselves, and quickly. So, there is some merit to the argument that they just want to get anything out of the administration while it lasts.
In the end, though, it doesn’t matter WHY the GOP is targeting healthcare. Whether they are distracting the public or they just like the idea of the poor and middle class dying, we still must oppose them. We still must rally together, call our senators, march, protest, write letters and carry signs. What we cannot afford, however, is tunnel vision or protest fatigue. While they seek to steal affordable healthcare from tens of millions with one hand, we must watch whatever they are trying to slip past us with the other. Watch for the slight . They may think they are great magicians, but we already know this trick. We are prepared to fight more than one battle at a time, if needs must.